Last night I was exhausted.

Last night I was totally exhausted. Animalia had woken up, that's right WOKEN UP, the night before at 9:30pm. What was she thinking?! That she'd had a nap?! That it wasn't really bedtime?! She wanted to play and be hilarious and while I typically find her extraordinarily entertaining well... At first I kind of battled her a little, rocking her while she tried to push away, trying to nurse her to sleep while she giggled and tried to patticake my bosom. Then I became resigned. Fine. Play. We'll see who gets more exhausted. OK. So obviously that's a slam dunk. ME! ME!! I WIN!!! I'M MORE EXHAUSTED THAN SHE IS!!! She played til after midnight. Then she woke up at 5:30am. It would have been fine, this one 5 1/2 hour night of sleep but I'm fighting off illness that seems to be hovering, waiting to strike. That and the night before Jimmy snored like it was going out of style. So two nights with very little sleep and pending illness makes for a very tired me.

So back to last night. Last night I borrowed Animalia's play yard from my parents. We don't own one yet, haven't been able to make the commitment. I knew it was trouble when we couldn't figure out how to dismantle it. After about 15 minutes of fighting with it, we did the best we could and put it in the car anyway. Not completely folded up but good enough to carefully fit.

I got home. IMMEDIATELY put on pajamas. OK, so I actually only made it to pajama top and underwear. Animalia was fussing and yelling at her Da. I figured she was sleepy so I decided to get her to take a nap, then I'd finish dressing for laying around and we'd set up the play yard. She dozed for less than 20 minutes which didn't give us much time at all. When she woke up, she wanted to play. Jimmy took down the damn thing from the car and we started trying to set it up. The shorter sides wouldn't stabilize. "Let's put her in it anyway," I said in my exhausted state. He looked at me like I was crazy, like I didn't know that it would crush her tiny body. I wasn't serious. Just tired. Didn't he know that? So we're at it for about 20 minutes with no luck and I decide to call my dad. He's the one who set it up in the first place, did he have any tricks, hints, tips for us? He tells me about some tiny little holes and some rivets and I dont' know what. He tells me he's coming over. I say no, I'll try it and call him back.

Ten minutes later the dog starts whining outside. My dad had shown up anyway. I scramble for pants. He comes in and starts trying to set up the play yard. Animalia whines. She wants her Ata. I try. He tries. Jimmy tries some more. No luck. After about 45 minutes I'm tired and done. She can just play on the floor. I make a declaration that I'm done. I tell my dad to go home, that I have to go to bed soon and haven't eaten dinner, that I don't care if it's set up. He seems irritated. No offense. Just too tired to care about the play yard. Animalia can play on the floor, where she usually plays.

Finally, 5 minutes past my randomly imposed deadline, they flip it over and figure it out. It's done! Animalia is happy. Jimmy and I eat dinner. She plays til she's tired. She goes to sleep. Everyone is happy. Finally.

In conclusion, baby gear is impossibly difficult to deal with, too big, and takes over entire lives. The end.